Container with seal structure

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a container with a seal structure having a base and a lid. The lid includes a top, a sidewall, a rim, a sealing edge, and a barb protruding from the lid sealing edge. The base includes a bottom, a sidewall, a rim, and a sealing edge. The lid sealing edge and the base sealing edge are molded to be correspondingly mateable with each other. Upon mating, an exterior region of the lid sealing edge attaches to an exterior region of the base sealing edge to form a seal, and the interior region of the lid sealing edge and the interior region of the base sealing edge gradually part from the point of attachment, forming a gap between the lid rim and the base rim.

PRIORITY

This application claims priority to a Chinese Patent Application filed on Nov. 30, 2012, and assigned Serial No. 201220653314.8, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to container technology, in particular to a sealed container with a detachable lid for storing food and liquid.

2. Background of the Invention

Containers are not only used to meet the requirement of storing liquid or solid, but also to provide secure closure to prevent spoilage of food and to transport or carry easily and conveniently.

Chinese patent CN102229371A, published on 2011 Nov. 2, discloses a food storage container, comprising a base and a lid; said lid is made of plastic, the circumference of said lid having a convex border toward the base; the opening edge of said base features an outward flange mated to the lid border; the sidewall of said lid also has a plurality of integral forming gripping jaws, said gripping jaws engage to the base flange to couple the lid and the base; said lid and said base are sealed with the help of a sealing ring; a securing ring with the shape of the cross section is movably coupled to the exterior of the lid, said securing ring being made of elastic deformative plastic; the length of the sidewall of said securing ring matches to the exterior of the lid and the length of securing claws coupled thereto, a plurality of transversely protruding hooks located near to the bottom of the interior of the sidewall, when the lid and the base tightly binding together, said hooks coupled to the lower side of the base flange, meanwhile, the side wall of the securing ring retaining the tight engagement between the gripping jaws on the lid and the base flange. With the securing ring movably coupled to the lid, said lid is able to stably attach to the base, therefore resulting in secure closure. Aforementioned food container can seal effectively, but it's complicated to assemble and requires the use of a sealing ring.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,196,404 discloses a triple seal container. Said contain forms three seals upon mating of the base and the lid. Said container is capable of sealing securely but is not easy and convenient to open.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To overcome the disadvantages of the prior art, the present invention provides a container that can be sealed securely and also easily and readily assembled and disassembled.

To achieve the aforementioned goal, the present invention adopts the following techniques: a container with seal structure, comprising a base and a lid, wherein said lid having

-   -   a top,     -   a lid sidewall extending downward from the said top,     -   a lid rim extending substantially horizontally outward from said         lid sidewall,     -   a lid sealing edge extending outward from said lid rim, wherein         said sealing edge comprising an interior region closed to said         lid rim and a exterior region far from said lid rim,     -   a barb protruding from said lid sealing edge;     -   and said base having         -   a bottom,     -   a base sidewall extending upward from said base bottom,     -   a base rim extending substantially horizontally outward from         said base sidewall,     -   a base sealing edge extending outward from said base rim,         wherein said sealing edge comprising an interior region closed         to said base rim and an exterior region far from said base rim,     -   said lid sealing edge and said base sealing rim molded to be         mateable to each other, and upon mating, the exterior region of         said lid sealing edge attaching to the exterior region of said         base sealing edge to form a seal, the interior region of said         lid sealing edge and the interior region of said base sealing         edge gradually parting from the point of attachment, forming a         gap between said lid rim and said base rim.

As a preferable embodiment, the exterior region of said lid sealing edge and the exterior region of said base sealing edge are concentric arcs, the interior region of said lid sealing edge and the interior region of said base sealing edge are straight lines extended from the end of the arcs with different tilted angles.

As a further preferable embodiment, said lid top features an annular slot and said base bottom features an annular ridge, said annular slot and said annular ridge featuring coincided projective position and being molded to be mateable, said annular ridge fitting into said annular slot when the base is placed on the lid top.

Preferably, said lid sidewall extending substantially vertically or at an outward angle downward from said lid top, facilitating stacking of a plurality of lids.

Preferably, said base sidewall extending substantially vertically or at outwardly extending angle downward from said base bottom, facilitating stacking of a plurality of bases.

As a typical implementation method, said base and said lid are substantially rectangular or square configuration

Alternatively, said base and said lid are substantially in the shape of a round cylinder.

The angle between said lid rim and said base rim is 5-10°.

Said base and said lid are made of plastic or rubber material.

The present invention improves the seal structure between the base and the lid, featuring attached sealing region between the edges of the lid and the base, which is gradually parting from the sealed region to the inner section to form a gap. Such structure allows better sealing effect with regard to plastic molding products, ensuring outermost sealing as well as easy disassembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a cuboid container;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a cylinder container;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the seal when the lid is put on a base;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of section A of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a base is put on the lid.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The matters defined in the description, such as a detailed construction and specific elements, are provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of the embodiments of the invention. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. Also, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show the integral structure diagram of the present invention. Said container may be in a shape of rectangle as in FIG. 1 or a circle as in FIG. 2. Said container comprises a lid 100 and a base 200.

Lid 100 features lid top 110, the center of said lid top being a substantially planar surface and the peripheral of the planar surface featuring an annular slot 130. Lid sidewall 120 is formed by extending downward from the periphery of lid top 110, and lid rim 103 is formed by extending horizontally outward from the lid sidewall 120. Lid sealing edge is extending outward from the lid rim 103, said sealing edge comprising the interior region 102 closed to the lid rim and the exterior region 101 far from the lid rim. Barb 104 is hanging over the lid sealing edge at the end of the exterior region.

Base 200 features bottom 210, the center of the bottom being a substantially planar surface and the peripheral of the planar surface featuring an annular ridge 230. Base sidewall 220 is extending upward from the periphery of the base, and base rim 203 is extending horizontally outward form the base sidewall 220. Base sealing edge is extending outward from base rim 203, said base sealing edge comprising an interior region 202 closed to the base rim and an exterior region 201 far from the base rim.

As shown in FIG. 4, the lid sealing edge and the base sealing edge are molded to be mateable, and upon mating, the exterior region 101 of said lid sealing edge and the exterior region of 201 of said base sealing edge are attached to form a sealed region, the interior region 102 of said lid sealing edge and the interior region 202 gradually parting from the point of attachment, forming a gap between said lid rim 103 and said base rim 203. In this embodiment, the exterior regions of both lid sealing edge and base sealing edge are concentric arcs, the interior regions of said lid sealing edge and base sealing edge are straight lines with different tilted angles extending from the end of the arcs, and the angle a between the lid rim and the base rim is approximately 10°.

The annular slot 130 on the lid top and the annular ridge 230 on the base have coincided projective position and are molded into matched shapes, said annular ridge fitting into the annular slot when the base is placed on top of the lid top, as illustrated in FIG. 5. Such structure allows the lid being placed underneath the base stably when disassembled, reducing storage space.

According to FIG. 3, said lid sidewall is extending substantially vertically or at an outward angle downward from said lid top, facilitating stacking of a plurality of lids. Said base sidewall is extending substantially vertically or at outwardly extending angle downward from said base bottom, facilitating stacking of a plurality of bases. When the lid and the base are assembled as shown in FIG. 3, multiple lids can be stacked on top of the lid, and multiple bases can be stacked underneath the base, helping to cut down displaying space when selling or reduce storage space during residential usage.

Said base and said lid are made of plastic or rubber material, allowing the base and the lid to be plastic.

While the present invention has been shown and described with reference to certain embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A container with seal structure, the container comprising: a base; and a lid, wherein said lid comprises: a top, a lid sidewall extending downward from said top, a lid rim extending substantially horizontally outward from said lid sidewall, a lid sealing edge extending outward from said lid rim, wherein said lid sealing edge includes an interior region adjacent to said lid rim and a exterior region apart from said lid rim, and a barb protruding from said lid sealing edge, wherein said base comprises: a base bottom, a base sidewall extending upward from said base bottom, a base rim extending substantially horizontally outward from said base sidewall, and a base sealing edge extending outward from said base rim, wherein said base sealing edge includes an interior region adjacent to said base rim and an exterior region apart from said base rim, and wherein said lid sealing edge and said base sealing rim are molded to be mateable to each other, and upon mating, the exterior region of said lid sealing edge attaching to the exterior region of said base sealing edge to form a seal, the interior region of said lid sealing edge and the interior region of said base sealing edge gradually parting from a point of attachment, forming a gap between said lid rim and said base rim.
 2. The container with seal structure according to claim 1, wherein the exterior region of said lid sealing edge and the exterior region of said base sealing edge are concentric arcs, and wherein the interior region of said lid sealing edge and the interior region of said base sealing edge are straight lines extending from an end of the concentric arcs with different tilted angles.
 3. The container with seal structure according to claim 1, wherein said lid top includes an annular slot and said base bottom includes an annular ridge, and wherein said annular slot and said annular ridge include coinciding projections mateable with the annular ridge of the annular slot when the base is placed on the lid top.
 4. The container with seal structure according to claim 1, wherein said lid sidewall extends substantially vertically or at an outward angle downward from said lid top, to facilitate stacking of a plurality of lids.
 5. The container with seal structure according to claim 1, wherein said base sidewall extends substantially vertically or at an outwardly extending angle downward from said base bottom, to facilitate stacking of a plurality of bases.
 6. The container with seal structure according to claim 1, wherein said base and said lid have one of a substantially rectangular shape and a square shape.
 7. The container with seal structure according to claim 1, wherein said base and said lid are substantially shaped as a round cylinder.
 8. The container with seal structure according to claim 1, wherein an angle between said lid rim and said base rim is between 5° and 10°.
 9. The container with seal structure according to claim 1, wherein said base and said lid are made of plastic or rubber material. 